Tag Archives: navy yard

Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed
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Metro Board authorizes new Station Names for map

Photo courtesy of
‘DC Metro Spiral (Names)’
courtesy of ‘thisisbossi’

The Metro board today met to consider some station names and changes to be made ahead of the next redesign of the map and authorized a number of changes to stations you may know and love. Here’s the skinny, straight from Metro:

  • Navy Yard becomes Navy Yard-Ballpark.
  • King Street becomes King St-Old Town.
  • Waterfront-SEU will drop SEU, because the university no longer exists.
  • Forest Glen will be shown on the map with the universal “H” symbol to indicate the location of Holy Cross Hospital.
  • Foggy Bottom and Medical Center will also be shown with “H” symbols reflecting proximity of hospitals.
  • New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U will be renamed “NoMa-Gallaudet U.” “New York Ave” will be shown as a secondary name for one-year to assist customers during the transition.

Four stations were unaltered, due to public familiarity with their names, despite their length:

  • Grosvenor-Strathmore
  • Georgia Ave-Petworth
  • Franconia-Springfield
  • Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

The new names will take effect next year when the June 2012 Metro Map hits the streets.  The cost to rename the stations is estimated to be approximately $400,000, though no formal figure is available.

Food and Drink, Fun & Games, The Features
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Justin’s Cafe: NatsTown’s Finest

Photo courtesy of
‘Cubs @ Nats (July 17, 2009) – 1’
courtesy of ‘Garyisajoke’

Nats fans are practically orphans when it comes to bar options surrounding their beloved ballpark. If you’re one of the effected parties, it’s downright miserable to live with from time to time. If you’re an observer of the culture and the area, it’s not that much better.

Current options include: The Bullpen and Das Bullpen. There’s also a McDonalds, a gas station, a couple hotels and apartment complexes. But, alas, a diamond in the rough!

Justin’s Café opened last year, just a few blocks from Nationals Park. They opened up shop at 1025 First Street SE with a fine line of beer, wine, and meals oh so divine. Pardon, my rhyme but I feel the selection was worth the cute play on words. Continue reading →

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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This Week in Food

Photo courtesy of
‘me + scallops = omg bff!’
courtesy of ‘skampy’
A Big Deal

The week’s biggest food news? Obviously the 2011 RAMMY noms. We Love DC eater Ashley writes that a few restaurants like Bourbon Steak, Citronelle, and Equinox show up a number of times, “but there are a few dark horses out there like Ted’s Bulletin, The Majestic and Liberty Tavern to round out the competition.” The winners will be announced at a ceremony on June 26th, and voters will be able to fill out a ballot that will run in the April 28th issue of The Washington City Paper or online. Check out the full list.

Actually, even bigger: the James Beard Award nominees! Up for Best Chef Awards (in the Mid-Atlantic region) are Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Johnny Monis of Komi, and Obelisk’s Peter Pastan. The only national chef or restaurant nomination was for the ubiquitous Jose Andres for “Outstanding Chef.” I back anyone behind Zaytinya, Minibar and Oyamel.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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This Week in Food

Photo courtesy of
’15/365′
courtesy of ‘_rockinfree’
What’s coming: Fifty years ago when I was a student at University of Maryland-College Park, I fell in love with Chipotle. Only I could get myself into credit card debt by buying one vegetable burrito every day for one year. Anyway, Prince of Petworth hears that Chipotle will open up a series of Asian themed restaurants this year that could be called ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen. Long name. A source tells PoP that ShopHouse has signed a lease in Dupont Circle at 1516 Connecticut Ave next to BGR.

In openings: Tom Sietsema tweets that Penn Quarter’s Hill Country BBQ will start serving its brisket and beans on March 12th. Hello Texas! Just two weeks later on the 28th, Pizzeria da Marco will open in Bethesda. Metrocurean tells us that the 130-seat restaurant will serve traditional Neapolitan pizzas fired in a 4,500-pound wood-burning oven. In what’s prob my fave opening of the month, PoP reports that Paila Chilean Grill and Cafe has opened up at 1424 Park Rd in Columbia Heights. See the menu here.

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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This Week in Food

Photo courtesy of
‘Pork Loin with Kumquat Marmalade @ Ardeo’
courtesy of ‘jimcollins’

Talk about an empire. DCMud.com reports that restaurateur Ashok Bajaj, the man behind Bombay Club, 701, Rasika, and Ardeo + Bardeo could soon sign a lease for the retail space at 22 West in West End. Bajaj somewhat hinted at a new project in a chat last month with my fave food critic, Tom Sietsema.

My favorite news of the week comes via The Washington Post: Whole Foods Market and a D.C. real estate firm want to build a new store in Navy Yard, “but the developer says that luring the grocer would require $8 million in tax breaks.”  WaPo reports that William C. Smith and Co. is proposing a 39,000-square-foot Whole Foods in the 800 block of New Jersey Ave. SE as part of a building that would also include 375 apartments.

In other Navy Yard news, JDLand writes that a beer garden might soon be on its way to Southeast. The ANC6D (Advisory Neighborhood Commission) voted 6-0 “to support the Bullpen’s plans to open an additional 632-seat beer garden at Half and M, across from the Navy Yard Metro station’s west entrance just north of Nationals Park.”

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Who We Missed: More Restaurants Opening in 2011

poubd

Photo Courtesy Pound Coffee

Since I first put together Part 1 and Part 2 of restaurants opening in 2011, I’ve been bombarded by emails reminding me of yet even more restaurants coming up. We’re working on a tool that will enable us (and therefore you!) to keep a better running list of the now 50-plus restaurants opening…but for now, here are some more hot-spots for you to look forward to this year in DC.

Station 4

Another reason that as a Navy Yard resident I’m getting more and more jealous of the Southwest Waterfront everyday – not only do they have a Safeway, but now a new restaurant called Station 4. Bullfeathers on Capitol Hill just reopened earlier this month under the same management behind Tunnicliff’s Tavern, Stoney’s, and Ulah Bistro. That same team is now bringing us this 4,000 square foot American bistro-style restaurant. Again, I love patio dining, and I love brunch on the weekends, so I will definitely be at Station 4.

1101 4th St. SW

Expected Arrival: ASAP

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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Bullfeathers Bounces Back on Monday

DSCN0564

Photo Courtesy Tricia Barba

As a former Capitol Hill resident and now a proud Navy Yard dweller, let me just say that Monday’s re-opening of Bullfeathers is one that I’ve been eagerly awaiting.  And that’s an understatement.

To recap: Bullfeathers “closed” in July of last year in order to undergo a complete renovation.  The Capitol Hill mainstay is now owned and operated by the team behind the popular Tunnicliff’s Tavern, Ulah Bistro & Stoney’s. Continue reading →

The Features, Where We Live
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Where We Live: Near Southeast/Capitol Riverfront

Photo courtesy of
‘loves it’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

Welcome back to Where We Live, your bi-weekly tour of the District’s neighborhoods. This week the focus is Near Southeast, which is also commonly known as Navy Yard or Capitol Riverfront. This neighborhood has been completely transformed over the past several years, and the construction of the Nationals Stadium has redefined the character of the area.  Read on to learn how the area has changed, what’s worth checking out when you’re in the area, and where to see some amazing before-and-after photos.

History: Pierre L’Enfant came along in 1791 and recognized that Washington’s waterfront retail would be its most valuable asset, and located its commercial center in this area. Then, in 1799, the Navy Yard opened (which happens to be the longest continually-operated Federal facility), and became a major shipbuilding center. This area was the heart of Washington throughout the 1800s, and the wharf was one of the most lively parts of the city. During wartime, the Navy Yard became even more important– it was a key defense of the city during the War of 1812, and during the 1940s, the Navy Yard reached its peak of 26,000 employees (by this point, it wasn’t shipbuilding but production of weapons ammunition that kept the Navy Yard so busy).

But all this production led to one very polluted river. And I-395 cut through the urban fabric of the neighborhood. After the war, the Navy Yard drastically scaled back operations– by that point, the commercial heart of the city had moved downtown. So Near Southeast was left with a polluted river, a terribly ugly highway overpass, and lots of abandoned buildings. It’s no surprise that this combination of factors led to crime, disinvestment, and neglect of buildings.

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